Recreational vehicles, such as all-terrain vehicles, personal watercraft, snowmobiles, and motorcycles are generally provided with seats having a cushion material attached to a seat base. The cushion material is generally surrounded by a protective coating, e.g., a waterproof coating. Vehicle seats are often made by assembling separately produced components such as the seat base, cushion material, protective cover and one or more fastening components. A piece of cushion material is often separately manufactured and then covered with a piece of protective material such as vinyl or leather. A portion of the protective cover is then stapled, stitched, screwed, glued or attached using any other fastening component to a seat base. If an emblem is desired, it is often stitched onto the protective cover.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of assembling an article is provided that comprises the steps of: providing a mold having a cavity configured as a desired shape; positioning a base within the mold so that a surface of the base material is exposed, applying coating material to substantially cover both the exposed surface of the base and an inner surface of the cavity; and depositing a cushion material into the cavity and sealing the cavity so that the coating material forms a skin around the cushion material and adheres the cushion material to the base.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of assembling an article is provided that comprises the steps of: applying coating material into a cavity of a mold that defines a desired profile; depositing expandable cushion material into the cavity of the mold; closing a lid of the mold and allowing the expandable cushion material to expand to a volume defined by the mold and the lid; opening the lid; and adhering a base to the expandable cushion material by applying a coating material between the base and the expandable cushion material.
The above mentioned and other features of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings are to scale so that the components are proportional to one another.